Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

When vampires and werewolves go at each other's throats in a medieval world, the love between two of them is definitely not going to have a nice ending. This prequel to Len Wiseman's action horror film offers very chaotic action, mediocre visual effects and a feeling that it doesn't belong in the cinema. (22/01/2009)

Although it is nice that the world of "Underworld" has grown to include a proper action fantasy, it does not mean that it is something worth paying much attention to. It is a classic mainstream film that does not put much effort into the story, it is not scary at all, and unfortunately, even the effects are not something worth noting. If you like "Underworld", it might please you a little, but maybe not even that. (05/02/2014)

As a prequel, it's not completely bad. Rhona Mitra was a safe bet and the rest of the cast is more or less consistently good. What didn't work as well in the third vampire adventure was the atmosphere and overall visual execution. After all, darkness and booming music work better in a modern city at night, where it's much more appealing and attractive, rather than in a medieval castle surrounded by walls and catapults. The special effects weren't particularly impressive either, but from the first moments, it was clear that they were cutting corners wherever possible. There are a few original scenes (with the wooden spears) and the final quarter of the film surprised me with its unexpected twists, which fit well into the story. If there's a fourth one, I wonder what it will be about. It feels like a closed trilogy that barely meets the standards of quality. (08/05/2009)

Rise of the Lycans is actually a prequel to the previous two installments, so if you had seen the original Underworld you knew how things would turn out. Even without it, the plot was clearly predictable. I get that vampires aren't allowed to go out in the sun, but still, I don't think the darkness needed to be so impenetrable, and it certainly didn't need to rain. If it had at least snowed, it might have brightened it up a bit. I was only going to give it two stars, if it hadn’t been for Bill Nighy and Rhona Mitra. (17/04/2017)

The idea of making the whole series as just one big flashback isn't entirely out of place, and I got quite a kick out of the acting. Rhona Mitra has been good since Season 3 of Nip/Tuck, I've been considering The Gates because of her. I'm always happy to see Elizabeth Hawthorne outside of series production, and the biggest hit of Rise of the Lycans was of course the "find all the footage with Craig Parker" game. (31/07/2012)